Learning What Works For Me

I don't remember when my first migraine was. It was probably junior high, but I can't pin it down beyond that. (But that's not bad for half a century ago!) I had started getting headaches, not terribly often at first, but I didn't understand what they were.

They ran in the family

My little sister said she got migraines, and she made such a fuss about and I couldn't fathom how bad a migraine must be. I just knew that I had a headache and needed aspirin or something, and to go lie down in my dark bedroom where I had heavy curtains in my bedroom to block the light.

I don't remember when Excedrin came on the market, but my mom bought some and I tried it. It just worked better for me, and I used that all through college. It's the only over-the-counter solution that has really worked for me.

When I got married, my first wife didn't understand what my migraines were either, but she understood what I did to deal with them and was supportive. I graduated and went to work for a state agency in about 1978, where I had good insurance.

The frequency and intensity increased

The headaches were continuing to get more frequent, and I finally went to a doctor about them. I don't recall what kind of doctor he was, but he finally explained that what I had were classic migraines. So much for the confusion caused by a drama queen sister!

Probably ten years and a divorce later, I had a bad migraine one summer that I just couldn't shake. Let's just say I know what a caffeine overdose is like. My girlfriend at the time finally took me to the hospital, where they gave me two shots of Imitrex to stop the pain. I was pretty fragile for a couple days, but the relief was fantastic.

That doctor later prescribed injectable Imitrex and something else I don't recall, but I continued to use Excedrin most of the time because of the cost of the Imitrex shots. I finally gave up on the Imitrex because of the nuisance of injections, and relied on Excedrin.

Relying on the solution that works for me

After I passed 50, the migraines started to become less frequent, but have never ceased being a regular companion. The solution is always Excedrin, a solid dose at first to knock it down right away, and sleep in the dark; not a particularly cold or warm space, but dark and quiet. I've also learned over time that for me hydration is very important. The glass of water is as important as the Excedrin.

After Excedrin disappeared from store shelves about a decade ago (for nearly a year), I have always made sure I have two or three giant bottles squirreled away just in case. There were days in my past that I'd have given five dollars a tablet for that relief. I don't mean to be an ad for Novartis or whoever owns it now, but when I am hit by one, or feel one coming on, I don't want to have to gather a number of different substances. I want one medicine (that I have stashed in small bottles in all my vehicles and around the house) that I can take with a good drink of water without having to think about it too much. My current wife (a true gem) always keeps a bottle in her purse too, just in case.